Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to promote apprenticeship programmes to small and medium-sized businesses.

Through the National Apprenticeship Service, we are working closely with employers of all sizes in growing their apprenticeship programmes and to help them make the most effective decisions for their organisation.

Our relaunched apprenticeships campaign aims to help increase the number of vacancies created by employers of all sizes. It encourages small and medium-sized businesses to recruit apprentices and upskill their current workforce through apprenticeships. Radio advertising is supported by targeted digital, telemarketing activity, public relations and social media activity. It will continue to support employers to create new vacancies and publicise these on the ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ website.

Links to the two apprenticeships campaign websites can be found at – one for employers: https://hireanapprentice.campaign.gov.uk/, and one for apprentices: https://www.getingofar.gov.uk/.

All UK employers with an annual pay bill of £3 million or more, pay 0.5 per cent of their pay bill to invest in apprenticeship training. We have led a major awareness-raising campaign over the past year, alongside HM Revenue and Customs. This ensures all levy-paying employers, whatever their size, are aware of both their obligations to pay the levy, and the opportunity to spend their investment through registering for an apprenticeship service account. We are providing ongoing support for smaller levy-payers via telephone to encourage them to invest their levy funds through registering for an apprenticeship service account.